The St. Louis Rams bounced back from last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a 28-13 road win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And guess what was the main catalyst in another road win by the Rams? It was again the defense. The Rams defense had five sacks, four interceptions (should’ve been six) and held dynamite rookie running back Doug Martin to just 62 yards and a 3.4 yard average per carry, a stark improvement from the Vikings’ loss.
Now, the defense did give up over 400 yards; however, they stood tall stopping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice on fourth down.
The defense got points again from Janoris Jenkins with a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown. It is the third pick six for Jenkins and his fourth touchdown overall this year. James Laurinitas had 12 tackles and an interception. Safety Quintin Mikell had 11 tackles and a sack.
Free-agent-to-be defensive lineman William Hayes had two sacks plus a tipped pass that found its way to the arms of defensive end Eugene Sims for one of the Rams four interceptions.
On offense, Lance Kendricks had a career day with four catches for 119 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown from Sam Bradford to open up the third quarter. Bradford’s numbers were okay as he completed 13 of 27 passes for 196 yards and an interception. But, the best number attached to Bradford was zero sacks.
As the late Gary Coleman would say as he did on Different Strokes, “WHAT YOU TALKING ‘BOUT, PALMER?” Yes, that’s what I said – zero sacks allowed by the Rams offensive line. And I can’t leave out Steven Jackson who threw some bone-crushing blocks on would-be defenders trying to hit Bradford.
The offensive line play was very shoddy last week, giving up four sacks and not giving Sam Bradford time in the pocket. In the win against the Bucs, the Rams offensive line not only kept the quarterback upright, but the holes were there for Steven Jackson to run through. Jackson had a good game with 19 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line gave him some gaping lanes to gallop through and when he got the ball he made it happen.
Next week, the Rams will try to finish over .500 for the first time since 2003. All the Rams have to do is win on the road in Seattle. A win against the Seahawks not only would give the Rams a winning season it would also leave them undefeated in the NFC West and can give this young team some momentum to build on this off season.
Happy New Year!
